Legislative_4ssembly_

Fisheries Minister Leo Rossiter; Agriculture Minister Andrew B. MacRae and Industry and Natural Resources Minister Lloyd MacPhail. In addition Mr. Rossiter will also in- sert a silver dollar in the keel of Hull #16, the first of the nine trawlers. The keel of Hull #16 was laid on Wednesday.

The nine ships will ‘be similar to the last two vessels launched from the Bathurst Marine Ltd. shipyard. They will be 128 feet in length and carry a crew of about 10. However, they will have one additional feature and that is that they will have extra strengthening for operation in ice. This will mean that the fishing season at George- town will be lengthened several weeks. It is believed that with the strengthened hulls that the ships could come into Georgetown on a year round basis if icebreaker assist- ance were given during the worst period of ice conditions.

Some alarm was beginning to be felt in the Georgetown area recently as a result of a few layoffs, but company employees are jubilant as their jobs seem guaranteed for at least a three year period. Recently about half a dozen workmen had to be laid off in the Georgetown shipyard when their type of work gave out. However, it is ex- pected that these will be taken on again shortly."

They should have put the contract of January 20th in that keel and have saved the silver dollar. Here was a contract dispersing nearly $8,000,000 dollars in public funds; every possible safeguard normally expected in such a contract was removed. The performance bond clause was crossed out, safeguards respecting delivery dates were removed, the normal procedures for handling the Federal 60% deposit were changed, repayment schedules were altered, in fact, anything which seemed displeasing to the Mighty Moe was suitably changed to meet his approval. You would think this would be quite enough trouble to come out of the January 20th contract, but listen to this, now it appears that the whole question of the ownership of that contract and of the funds representing the down payment on the vessels is the subject of a provocated legal problem.

From Financial Post dated July 18th, 1964. ..

“Reason for much of the stumbling appears to 'be a result of ill-preparedness of provincial authorities to deal with the many problems projects like this develop.

Leo Rossiter, provincial Industry Minister, says plans are in the works to estab- lish an office of industrial development with complete powers to unify the various agencies involved in such projects.

Premier Walter R. Shaw, who set up a Resources Development Program, says there have been delays but a breakthrough is “about to come.”

“We are learning lessons,” Rossiter adds. “Well, if he did he never showed them. It appears that the down payment capital was obtained with a clear understanding; backed if it be invested by a certain company as down pa ent for trawlers whic they would own and which trawlers would supply Gulf Ga en Foods. It appears that Mr. Moe diverted these funds to his Gulf Garden Company to make the deposit in the name of that company instead of the original one planned. So we are not sure who owns the funds or who owns the contract.

Mr. Speaker, we have met their many expenditures, we have met and endeavour- ed to keep this thing floating. We endeavour to put it on a sound basis 'but we met with complete op sition from those that are in charge of the Bathurst Marine and Gulf Garden F . Since we came into office we had a complete vendetta organized and operating twenty-four hours a day against us. We have paid their bills for oil, for gas, for extras in the thousands of dollars that were never authorized. We aid their wages, we paid their salaries, we paid for their welding fluid, we paid for t eir weld- ing walls, their tele hone bills, their telegraph bills. And their telephone bills would run $45.00, three ca s at $45.00 each in the one day to Norway. If they were running an efficient organization, and they got their heads together, one telephone messa e would have done the whole thing. Then we found $45.00 for a telephone call for r. Moe sitting there calling his confreres over in Norway. We paid for their electricity when it was cut off, we paid for the telephone when it was cut off, and we were sent bills for their champagne parties at the Charlottetown Hotel. We refused to pay them.

Honourable Alexander B. Campbell: That’s worse than the oats. ~370—